This invention relates to an automatic hunter's prop used for quickly lifting a hunter from a camouflage position lying on his back to a seated, ready position for shooting game. The invention is especially applicable for waterfowling, and may be used in combination with a lightweight decoy shell and other camouflage common in the industry. The invention is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, lightweight, and convenient to carry.
According to one prior art goose blind, a foldable chair supports the hunter in a semi-reclined seated position and includes a lightweight decoy shell which pivotably attaches to the chair back for covering the head, shoulders, and chest of the hunter. The decoy shell has large window slots for viewing. When waterfowl are spotted overhead, the hunter quickly flips the decoy shell upwardly and out of the way for shooting. This prior art blind addresses a need in the industry for a way to hunt in open grain fields or on frozen lakes without digging a pit and without lying flat on cold wet ground. However, because the hunter waits seated in the blind prior to shooting, he is in a less effective camouflage position and has a limited range of view overhead. Moreover, the prior art blind generally requires the use of a large decoy shell which can be cumbersome to manipulate and difficult to carry.
The present invention addresses these and other problems of the prior art by providing a hunter's prop which automatically lifts the hunter from a camouflage position lying on his back to a ready position for shooting. In the camouflage position, the hunter has full view of the sky overhead and is able to precisely time his launch into the shooting position when spotting waterfowl. The invention is conveniently triggered by the hunter, and includes a safety mechanism to prevent an inadvertent launch.